Stopping the Sand
by mypiratecat1
Summary: During COTBP. One Shot. Will goes to see Jack in jail prior to his scheduled hanging.


The night was hot and abomidibly humid, even for Jamaica. The air was so thick that it seemed that the young blacksmith might have been able to cut the very air into pieces with one of the fine swords that emerged from his rough, craftsman's hands. Will Turner was sharpening a blade with dogged determination, his hands repeating the strokes with the stone out of habit, his mind going back over the events of the day.

He paused for only a moment to wipe the sweat from his face, then resumed his task. He was thinking about the recent past, and pondering the plan that was forming in his mind...

Earlier in the day, Will had gone to the garrison at Fort Charles, to the cells that held prisoners, enemies of the crown. Desperate criminals, all. Convicted of a variety of crimes, the worst of all being piracy. He had gone there to visit a friend...someone who, in his opinion, should have gotten more leniency in his sentence, a friend who had helped rescue Elizabeth Swann in an unbelievable and herioc manner, yet was awaiting execution at the gallows in four day's time.

Will, himself, had been granted clemency from Elizabeth's father, as soon as they had reached Port Royal... his friend had been thrown into the Dauntless' dark and filthy brig, into a cell with no place to sit except on the floorboards, on dirty straw, and with dampness creeping in from a slow leak in the hull. He was not allowed any visitors, and spent the voyage back to Jamaica in lonely solitude. Will wanted to see that his friend was being treated in a humane manner now that they were back in Port Royal... that he was not being abused and was being fed food fit for human consumption.

When he got to the garrison, he was told that he could only visit his cohort in piracy with an armed escort, and only for three minutes. Will knew that he was lucky to have even that long to converse with Captain Jack Sparrow.

"Will!" came the surprised response from the captain when Will came down the steps to the cells. Jack stood up directly and came over to the bars with a genuine smile on his face, "Lad, what brings ye here t' visit th' condemned man wot ye had such a grand adventure wif, eh?" He went to put his hand through the bars, and found a loaded musket pointed straight at his head... he delicately withdrew his hand and regarded the guard with large eyes.

"Three minutes!" the guard said, roughly.

"... thank you," Will was polite, but cool. He turned to Jack and said, "Jack! I'm glad to see you. How are you? Are they feeding you anything that passes for food, here?"

Jack chuckled and nodded his head toward the bowl on the floor of the cell, filled with a strange looking liquid and with a spoon stuck in it. It was a very odd color, and the flies that buzzed around it seemed reluctant to land near it, as if they, also, were repulsed. "Seaweed Swill, if you please, Mr. Turner. This establishment is not known fer its marvelous victuals, if ye catch me drift, savvy?" Jack wrinkled up his nose at the bowl; Will stared at it and could not help but do the same.

"I will make sure that you get better, Jack..."

"Two minutes!"

"How's yer bonnie lass, boy?"

Will face reddened. "You know that she is not my lass, Jack... Elizabeth is engaged to be married to Commodore Norrington..."

The captain rolled his eyes and looked at the young man seriously, "D'ye mean t' tell me tha' ye haven't told her tha' ye love her, William? What th' hell is holdin' ye back, boy?"

Will shook his head and said, "I did not come here to talk about Elizabeth, Jack... I came to..."

Jack cut him off straight away, "Will, I am going t' die. There ain't no gettin' around it this time. There is no point or purpose t' ye bein' worried about me state, here. Ye need t' be worried about how ye're gonna take Elizabeth fer yer own! It sure as hell wasn't Norrington who was goin' through hell an' high water t' save th' girl, now was it? Ye need t' reco'nize yer pirate blood, boy, an' take wot ye want!" Jack was leaning forward as far as he could and not annoy the guard, who was growing bored with this short exchange.

"... Jack..."

"William, listen t' me, will ya?" the captain carefully placed his fingertips on the bars of the cell, watching the guard carefully. "... I am only goin' t' say one thing, lad. Look at me..."

"One minute!"

Will looked at Jack, wishing that they were not talking with iron bars between them. Jack tilted his head to one side and said, "Ye need to go after her, Will. She agreed t' marry Norrington wif th' stipulation tha' you were rescued, lad. Ye need t' tell her how ye feel. I've lost me Pearl, don't allow Elizabeth t' slip through yer fingers like sand tha' easily! If ye do... an' I hang... what did either of us gain by what we went through?" The captain paused, and smiled sadly, "No one can change my situation, lad... I am goin' t' die... but you can change _your _situation. Think about it..."

"Time's up!" the guard grabbed Will's arm and started to pull the young man back up the stairs. Will turned and pulled his arm free, then offered his hand to Jack, wordlessly. Jack tentatively reached through the bars, and shook the blacksmith's hand. Will looked at Jack, who was staring at him with world weary dark eyes and a somber face. Will could feel the captain's eyes watching his back as he turned and went back up the stairs. "Remember wot I said, son... don't allow her t' slip through your fingers like so much sand...like I let th' Pearl slip through my fingers..."

The young man returned to the smithy and tried to return to his work... he could not apply himself properly to work without damaging the blades or himself, so he resorted to sharpening his own blade. With each stroke of the stone, he formed his plan... with each stroke of the stone, he vowed...with each stroke of the stone, he made certain that the sword would be sharp enough to trim a blade of grass, or sharp enough to penetrate anything once he threw it with pinpoint accuracy...

He wiped the sweat from his face one more time. He then sheathed his sword into it's scabbard at his side, then quietly opened the door to the smithy. He stood there for only a moment, then closed the door behind him. Jack would be hung at 9:00AM on the upcoming Friday morning...there wasn't much time... Elizabeth would be on the viewing stand with her fiance'.

Will made his decision. He would not let Elizabeth slip through his fingers, nor would he let Jack slip through the trap door of the gallows... Will Turner headed through the dark and humid streets toward the taverns. He knew that this would be the best place to learn of the whereabouts of the Black Pearl... so as to stop the sand from slipping through his fingers.


End file.
